Winter Wonderland Tag

Tag Rules:

• Link back to The Storybook Journal
• Answer the Questions, think Winter-y thoughts!  Include pictures, if you like.
• Tag at least 3 bloggers or more if you're feeling ambitious.

1. Name a few things you love about Winter, and a few things you don't love so much about it.

Well, I love the way the sun sparkles on powder snow, the gentle stillness of slowly falling flakes, cozy-ing up by the woodstove with a warm blanket and a good book.  Listening to Christmas music (my family won't allow me to until at least November.), the sharp frosty bite and clear pure smell of the winter air.  Driving through town and seeing everything lit up.

Don't like?  That I can't go barefoot (I hate wearing shoes), the mess that kids wet clothes creates, the way the sun can glare on the snow hurts my eyes, when someone leaves the door open and freezes up the house.  :)

2. When you were a child, did you "believe" in Santa Claus?

Nope!!  When I was just a wee girl I was told that he was fake.  However I do find the Catholic priest, St. Nicholas, from who Santa Claus is loosely derived, very interesting.  He not only was beloved by children and their patron saint, but he was also the patron saint of thieves...well, repentant thieves...the Leverage crew wasn't very repentant.  I guess it actually really depends on how you classify 'repentant'.

3. Is there a book or movie that you really love to read/watch in the Winter as opposed to other times of the year?

There are quite a few Christmas stories that I only read in the winter, and I usually only watch Christmas movies in the winter.

4. Is there a particular Christmas movie you watch EVERY year as tradition? 

Yes.  White Christmas and The Mistle-tones!

 5. Do you usually get a real tree or a fake tree for Christmas? Who's in charge of decorating it at your house? 

We usually don't get any tree (our house is way too small).  And Mom is usually in charge.

6. Does your family usually stay home or go visiting (relatives, friends, etc.) on Christmas Day?

Stay at home.  It's my brother's birthday, so we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and his birthday on Christmas Day.

7. What does your family usually do on New Years Eve? Any traditions? Do you ever stay up till midnight?

Well, we have lots of good food, certain dishes are a tradition, and then we stay up til midnight and then sleep in.

8. Do you get snow where you live? If so, have you ever built a snowman and named him Olaf?

Yes, we do get snow, and last night I would have been complaining about how we had barely any, but we got TONS last night!  Yippee!  And no, I've never built a snowman and named him Olaf.

9. If it's snowing outside, would you prefer to go outside and build snowmen and enjoy it, or would you rather stay inside with a blanket and something hot to drink and maybe a movie or a book?
It depends on the wind and the temperature.  If it's really windy, I would prefer to be inside, but when the wind is still (and my warm clothes are clean and dry) I would prefer to be outside.

10. When do you start looking forward to or getting excited about Spring? 

Usually about the middle of January.

While looking for 'wintery' pictures, I ran across this poem.

It cracks me up because, while I was born in Wisconsin and lived there for 6 years, I never knew weather like this.  However, if I just exchanged the names of the states, this poem accurately describes almost every winter where I now live.

So there are my answers.  Thank you, Cordy for tagging me, and I tag:

Lydia
MovieCritic
Rebekah